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Pesakh (Passover)

 

Pesakh (Passover) פֶּסַח
Khag ha-Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) חַג הַמַּצּוֹת
 
This feast begins at the evening of the 14th day of the month nisan and lasts for 7 days, till the evening of 21st day of the same month.

The first and the last day are the holy assembly, and during these days all work is prohibited, with the exception of food preparation, the days between the first and last day are khol ha-moed  חֹל הַמֹּעֵד - which means semi-holidays (during these 5 days only necessary work is permitted)
 
This feast was established in memory of liberation of our ancestors from slavery in Egypt.

The ancient Israelites did not have enough time to prepare leavened bread for the journey, so they had to prepare the bread from unleavened dough in the form of flat breads, therefore it is ordained to eat unleavened bread מַצָּה matza, for the seven days of Passover. For this reason we also call this feast Khag ha-Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Breads).

Unleavened bread is baked from unleavened dough and without salt before the start of Passover.
Before the start of this feast it is necessary to clean the whole house and all household utensils and dishes that have had leaven חָמֵץ khametz in them.

On the first evening of the feast after the worship in kenasa (synagogue), Karaites read the הַגָּדָה Haggadah at home, the Haggadah is the story of the deliverance of our ancestors from Egypt. This story tells us about the meaning of Passover.

Karaites eat unleavened bread and bitter vegetables, which reminds us of the bitter life of our ancestors in Egypt.